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Product description

Robert MacfarlaneHardback

A joyous meditation on words, landscape and the relationship between the two, travelling from Cumbria to the Cairngorms, and exploring the landscapes of Roger Deakin, J.A. Baker, Nan Shepherd, and others. From Robert Macfarlane, the bestselling author of The Old Ways.

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If you like words, nature and the Great Outdoors you'll enjoy this little gem.MacFarlane unearths all sorts of words for different natural occurrences and introduces us to some of his favourite nature writers.He rails against the loss of nature vocabulary to the point where the mainstream has been left with dull generic terms like field, hedge, wood, hill etc.There is a rich body of words out there from sailors, farmers, shepherds, trekkers and country folk and Macfarlane's aim is to document these before they are lost forever.One of the words I've taken from it is 'smeuse' - a Sussex term for a small worn away tunnel or entrance in a hedge caused by a creature going back and forth.MacFarlane makes the point that by giving things a name we are more likely to notice them, look out for them - meaning the way we experience nature is enhanced.A truly enjoyable, life-affirming work

This is a book about words and the cultures they belong to. The main feature is a set of glossaries of countryside names, in British languages and dialects as well as some technical and poetical terms. Whether knowing the Gaelic for a gap in a hedge or the Herefordshire word for a flood is actually useful is debatable, but I found it very interesting.Between the glossaries are essays on the works of other outdoors writers, most of whom Mr MacFarlane seems to have known. Part memoir and part book review, these are of varying interest but readable and beautifully written.I recommend to all who love words and the countryside.

Occasionally one comes across a book which is simply and utterly beautiful. It doesn't happen often; and even more rarely when the book is non-fiction. But this book is special. It is somehow nostalgic without being depressing, uplifting without being pretentious. As a celebration of all that is to be cherished in our landscape and our linguistic heritage it is without parallel. Highly recommended.

A perfect book if you enjoy the countryside and enjoy the English language. By enjoying the countryside, I don't mean a nice day out but an interest that can identify some birds and insects, can spot a track in a field or a gap in a hedgerow, and always takes home litter and shuts gates behind you. By enjoying the English language, yes, it is wonderfully written with scholarship and originality, but I am referring to regional and dialect and specialised words for things or activities relating to the countryside, from yesterday and today, with a view to which might be retained in the future. With words such as 'acorn’ and ‘buttercup’ being dropped in favour of adding ‘broadband’ and ‘cut and paste’ to the Oxford Junior Dictionary, and flora and fauna being endangered or extinct annually, this book is a treasure. I don't like the quality of paper and print in my paperback so I may treat myself to a hardback.

A very fine book - others will say better than I can what needs to be said, but it shows the older folk had precise ideas when describing their world. The book tries to preserve them and may give us hope we can preserve some of the landscape before it's too late. I had a copy and bought this one for a friend, who now loves it.

Landmarks is not so much a book of nature writing as a book about nature writing. For me, the chapters about the writing of Nan Shepherd and Roger Deakin were the most interesting - two writers I have long since meant to try but haven't got round to yet. In between the chapters are glossaries of nature words. These are interesting to dip in and out of, but they are heavily weighted in favour of languages that most of us would avoid attempting to pronounce, such as Gaelic, so I'm not likely to be using many of them soon!Robert MacFarlane is a passionate and interesting author, his writing soars and is always a joy to read.

As always, Robert Macfarlane writes beautifully, but reading "Landmarks" reminded me that he is senior lecturer in English Literature with a vast repertoire of words at his disposal, and stopping continually to use my dictionary had a furacious effect on my pleasure. Words are fascinating and fun, but could this have been verging on exhibitionism?

Otherwise, I enjoyed the book as well as meeting authors I had not heard of before.